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Theory

 

"The highest form of warfare is to contend with strategies. The next highest is to use allegiances. The next is to use armies. The lowest form of warfare is to beseige cities."

- Sunzi's Art of War

 

"Use mind, not force."

- Master Yang Chengfu

 

 

 

theoria (θεωρία): the act of prolonged seeing and the imprinted shape of what is thereby seen

theory: a systematically organized body of knowledge or composite of accepted principles designed to analyze, predict or explain the nature and behavior of a specified set of phenomena

 

Taichi theory is for the mind what Taichi practice is for the body.

Taichi "theory" is an extremely rich subject that cannot be simply summarized. In the same way that the movements and postures of Taichi Chuan must be practiced carefully and consistently over a long period of time before any real physical fluency or competency can be expected; as well the concepts and principles of Taichi theory must be studied and contemplated carefully and consistently over a long period of time before any genuine fluency or ease of understanding might be expected.

Of course like all things yin and yang, theory and practice are never truly separate. Physical experience is guided by intellectual process just as much as intellectual process is guided by physical experience. Throughout the very long history of Taichi theory in China, the dichotomy between theory and practice has been most commonly expressed through the terms of Martial (Wu 武) and Civil (Wen 文). The "martial" is classically understood as the outward expression or practice, while the "civil" is the inherent substance, principle or theory.

While the martial is transmitted through memorizing forms and postures and the physical act of moving and turning the body, the civil is transmitted through contemplating images and ideas and the mental act of knowing and feeling with the mind. Though the martial differs in expression a bit from person to person, the unity supplied through the civil is the same in all cases.

This understanding goes all the way back to the Yi Jing, or Classic of Change, from around 1000 BCE in the text for hexagram number 48, The Well: "The village changes but the well does not." About 500 years later it was echoed again by Laozi as: "All things vary in style and expression, yet each returns to its root the same. (Chapter 16)" And then Confucius shortly after with: "By nature people are close, by habit they become far. (Analects 17.2)" Fast forward another 2000 years to the ultra succint version found in the Taichi Chuan Treatise of Master Wang Zongyue from the 1500s: "Movement divides and stillness unites."

Taichi theory is not unique to Taichi Chuan. As a philosophical construct and organizational framework it is ubiquitous throughout the vast realm of East Asian cultural practices and life sciences. In Neoconfucian cosmology, for example, there is a Greater Taichi and a Lesser Taichi. The Greater Taichi is the universe itself: heaven, earth and the pulsing, circulating continuum generated through their harmonious intermingling (i.e. life). While the Lesser Taichi is any smaller universe within the larger one, such as a whole human being: mind, body and the pulsing, circulating continuum generated through their harmonious intermingling (i.e. life).

Taichi theory is not unique to China. Seeing the individual self as a microcosm of the universal whole is a fairly common feature in classical philosophies and mystical cosmologies from around the world. But the highly stylistic way this old understanding has been preserved and shepherded through centuries upon centuries of cultural upheaval and all manner of exploitation, misappropriation and persecution by being packaged up as a threefold cultivation system of martial art, healing exercise and spiritual awareness, is very much unique to the culture of China and spirit of the East.

From the very beginning in the Art of War by Sunzi, it was understood that strategy and diplomacy were far superior to open warfare and attacking enemies in terms of securing lasting victory. The only way to ensure the kind of "effortless victory without battle" that he advocated was through awareness and consideration over actions and urges ("always more formulations over no formulations"). There's a famous story about Zhuangzi, a beloved Daoist recluse who lived a couple hundred years after Sunzi, in which he confronts a whole host of the "best swordsmen in the land" with his long-winded poetic descriptions of his swords full of powerful concepts and ideas...and wins!

Again fast forward another 1500 years to the creation story of Taichi Chuan in which the Daoist recluse Zhang Sanfeng is sitting quietly in his mountain retreat studying the Yi Jing (Classic of Change) when he glimpses out the window a bird attacking a snake which keeps yielding and counterattacking until the bird flies away. From this confluence of thinking about the Yi Jing and witnessing the technique of the snake was born the idea of a martial art that focused on yielding and low serpentine movements that eventually came to be called "Taichi Fist" after "taichi," a special term from the Ten Wings of the Yi Jing used to describe the special dynamic of Yin and Yang when they are in mutual harmony.

Taichi theory is the secret to Taichi practice. Taichi practice is the secret to Taichi theory.

 

Primary Texts of Taichi Theory:

  • Yi Jing (Classic of Change) by King Wen and Duke of Zhou
  • Daode Jing (Way of Virtue Classic) by Lao Zi
  • The Confucian Canon (Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, Mencius)
  • Sun Zi Bing Fa (Sun Zi's Art of War)
  • Zhuang Zi (Master Zhuang)
  • Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic)
  • Huang Di Yin Fu Jing (Yellow Emperor's Classic of the Hidden Sign)
  • Can Tong Qi (Record of the Joining of Similars) by Wei Boyang
  • Wu Zhen Pian (Awakening to Reality Pages)
  • Taiji Jing (Taichi Classics) by Zhang Sanfeng, etc.

 

 

Exposition on Theory and Practice in Tai Chi
by Master Yang Banhou, c.1875

Principle is the underlying substance of essence, energy, and spirit. Essence, energy, and spirit is the underlying substance of the body. The body is developed through the application of the mind. Power is developed through the application of the body. The mind and the body are both ultimately ruled by a singular principle. Essence, energy, and spirit are all ultimately ruled by sincere intentions.

Being authentic and sincere is the way of the sky. Becoming authentic and sincere is the way of humankind. Not even for a single moment should the thoughts be allowed to wander from this authenticity. It absolutely must be recognized that heaven and humanity both exist because of the very same underlying principle.

Just as it is the energy of the sun and moon that fuels the fluid circulation of the natural world, so it is the energy of the intentions that fuels the fluid circulation of the essential spirit along the subtly concealed pathways of natural principle. Thus it can be said that from the martial comes the civil and from wisdom comes spirituality. From the perspective of the martial arts what is most important is the functioning of the mind and body and the development of power. This is primarily accomplished by continuously returning to the root of the dao and cannot be attained solely as the result of physical training.

Power comes from the tendons and strength comes from the bones. The kind of strength that enables the lifting and holding of heavy objects is generated through the external conditioning of the physical frame and is a firm and hard kind of strength. But there is another kind of strength that comes from keeping the underlying substance in tact and is generated from the essential energy of internal vigor. It is a kind of skill. It does not express in the body as muscular mass and appears incapable of exerting even the slightest force. But once developed, this skill is capable of generating a firmness and hardness that spontaneously and randomly appears in the most marvelous of ways. It is only through the nurturing of the body and the cultivation of its underlying substance that such a dao can be attained.

 



The Tai Chi Symbol

 

all translations by Christopher Kiely
(in PDF format)


Tai Chi Map (Before and After the Sky)
Yin and Yang in the Yijing

Giving (Qian), Chapter 1 of the Yi Jing
Receiving (Kun), Chapter 2 of the Yi Jing

The Great Treatise of the Yi Jing
(Chapter 11-12 of the Fifth Wing)

Laozi's Daode Jing (Way of Virtue Classic), Chapters 1-20

Confucius's Great Learning
Confucius's Analects (excerpts)
Confucius's Common Center


Sunzi's Art of War (excerpts)

Zhuangzi, Chapter 1 (Free and Easy Wandering)
Zhuangzi, Chapter 7.5 (Master Hu and the Ninefold Abyss)
Zhuangzi, Chapter 30 (A Story of Swords)

Rugged Uncle's Longevity Method
(from Chapter 1 of the Huangdi Neijing)

Record of the Joining of Similars (Can Tong Qi), Chapter 1-3

The Yang Family's "Forty Verses," Verses 1-12

 

 

 

Exposition on Civil and
Martial in Tai Chi

by Master Yang Banhou, c.1875

“Civil” refers to the underlying substance. “Martial” refers to how this substance is applied. The civility underlying every martial application is nothing other than essence, energy and spirit. This is the underlying substance of the cultivation arts. The militancy that develops this civil substance is nothing other than the body and mind. This is the discipline of the martial arts.

When it comes to the “firing times” of internal alchemy, balancing the civil and martial means knowing the proper timing for reeling the breath in and letting it out. The timing must be just right for the elixir to form. This is the root of the cultivation arts. While in the context of facing an opponent, balancing the civil and martial means knowing when to store the power and when to release it. This is the foundation of the martial arts.

This is why the civil qualities of softness and gentleness are the underlying substance of training in the martial arts. It is the essence, energy and spirit that are the very muscle of internal power and enable the martial qualities of firmness and hardness to spontaneously manifest throughout the core strength of the body and mind.

Having civility without martial preparedness is like having the substance but without a means of employing it. Having militancy without civil accompaniment is like having the means for employing but with nothing to employ. A solitary pole is difficult to balance upright and a single hand cannot clap. This principle not only pertains to the work of nurturing the underlying substance of the martial arts. It pertains to all things.

Thus the civil is the internal principle and the martial is the external technique. External technique without civil principle will indeed empower a certain boldness of the qi and blood, yet whenever facing an opponent of dubious and deceptive means, this boldness will inevitably get one into trouble. On the other hand, civil principles without external techniques will indeed engender one to the school of peace and tranquility, yet not knowing how to respond to conflict will inevitably lead one to miscalculate one's position and inadvertently invite catastrophe. Thus in regard to the work of humankind how could these two words, civil and martial, not be carefully explained and considered?

 

 
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